BC Conservatives demand ride-sharing

The B.C. Conservative Party supports ride-sharing in the province, and is urging the NDP government to table ride-sharing legislation by the end of the year as promised.

The party also suggests a pilot project immediately.

“Ride-sharing legislation is long overdue in B.C.,” said Scott Anderson, interim party leader and Vernon resident.

“It’s time to let people decide if they will support this innovation in transportation.”

The government recently announced it’s studying safety and regulatory issues there is no timeline for a policy that will permit ride-sharing operations like Uber and Lyft.

Anderson says that instead of interfering with entrepreneurial innovation, the government should step out of the way.

“Obviously we need to set minimal standards for ride-sharing, but those standards should apply across the board to both ride-shares and taxis,” he said.

“If ride-sharing is an idea that will work, let’s find out by letting folks choose between ride-sharing and taxis. If it is an idea that can flourish in competition with taxis, then so be it. But we won’t know the answer to that unless we allow ride-sharing a fair chance to compete.”

Anderson wants a pilot project to see how ride-sharing operates.

“Kelowna seems ideal since it’s a medium sized city, small enough to monitor but large enough to allow us to see a full range of impacts and implications,” he said.